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There’s no rest for the weary. Even as a wave of Class 12 students finish with their board exams, they face the prospect of entrance exams for professional courses. Whether it’s the IITs, engineering, medical or fashion design colleges, students are back to the grind. Assisting them in their
endeavours are coaching classes. So much for a well deserved rest. After extensive screening tests and a high cut-off, the brightest students are picked for these special training batches within batches. We talk to a few students and tell you what’s happening on the ground and in their lives.
Sukanya KC, a 17-year-old Science student is just tired of it all. “My exams ended on March 10 and CET classes began on March 15. It was quite frustrating to have only four days of freedom before hitting the books again. We have to solve at least two huge books per paper.” The worst part she says, is that the brighter students are enrolled in a special batch. “I was selected to appear for a screening test for the ICB — an intensive coaching batch for the highest scorers in the classes.” She feels neither happy nor proud, “I was praying that I wouldn’t make it through, because those who do, have to attend eight hours of classes and solve tests through the day!” she exclaims.
For Pallavi Sinha it sounds all too familiar, “The entrance exams for NIFT clashed with my board exams. The day after I wrote the test, I had to write my HSC papers too.” So how does she plan to cope ? “Fortunately, the coaching classes I was attending are over and done with. I’m preparing for the second round of the NIFT exams now since I made it through the first. I’m studying at home.” If you think that’s bad, hear what 14-year- old Divesh Mirchandani, a student of Activity High school, has to say. Divesh has just cleared his class 10 exams and is already looking to the future. “Many of my classmates have enrolled for these coaching classes, some of them start in August and December. “During my boards they were giving out brochures. I went for a test, and I learnt that there were 2,000 other students at my centre alone. It’s all a bit too much, but I guess we have no real choice if we want to keep up.”

Deven Kanal
The Asian Age